


Better With You

by iriswests



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Single dad!Even, Vet!Isak, just a bunch of fluff, that's it there's no other point they're just fluffin their way through the week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-17 00:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10583049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iriswests/pseuds/iriswests
Summary: Isak and Even don't know what they'd do without the other. Eventually, they realize they don't really need to find out.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rhalei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhalei/gifts).



> so this is a short, small, fluffy thing that was only birthed because a) i was watching cute things and felt like writing nothing but cute things and b) the beautiful [rhae](http://stardefiant.tumblr.com/) wanted evak and a baby. thus!

Even doesn’t ask questions when he gets into work on Monday morning and Isak’s sporting an impressive black eye. He simply reaches into the cabinet behind his desk and pulls out a small concealer tube, one he assured Isak was for “emergencies only”, and Isak’s a little embarrassed when he notices Even’s scraping desperately at the sides of the tube with the wand (and Isak’s even more embarrassed he knows what that’s called now).

“Was it the Hansen’s cat again?” he asks Isak, finally bringing the wand up to gingerly press it against Isak’s skin.

Isak grunts. “No,” he lies.

Even hums noncommittally, setting the wand down when he’s satisfied and bringing his pinky up to blend the concealer around Isak’s eye. “I’m sure there’s got to come a point where you have to tell them the cat’s too violent to be your patient.”

Isak raises an eyebrow, which Even immediately pulls down with his index finger. “You want me to surrender to a _tabby cat_?” he asks Even.

Even considers his work for a moment, before pulling back and considering it some more. “No, Isak, I want you to surrender to a demon.”

Isak scoffs. “Forget it,” he tells Even, and Even grins brightly at him when he appears satisfied at the state of Isak’s eye. “That cat’s not getting the best of me. _I’m_ the doctor here,” he points to himself indignantly. “Next time, _he’ll_ be the one with a black eye.”

“Ooh, no,” Even hisses, shaking his head. He gestures mildly towards the waiting room, where Mrs. Johansen sits with her poodle, Astrid. She’s giving Isak a scandalized look.

Isak shakes his head furiously. “Oh, no, Mrs. Johansen, I would never,” he assures her. “Er, it was a metaphor.”

“Run while you can, Astrid,” Even addresses the dog beside him. “The doctor’s finally snapped.”

“I – okay,” Isak glares at Even. “You’re not helping.”

“You didn’t hire me to help.”

“I – I’m pretty sure that’s _exactly_ why I hired you, Even.”

“Hm,” Even looks over at Mrs. Johansen and offers him that ridiculous smile Isak thinks powers half of Oslo. “Mrs. Johansen, I promise you Doctor Valtersen does not give animals black eyes.”

“Yes, thank you,” Isak breathes.

“Only tabby cats.”

“ _Even_.”

“What?” Even grins at him. “Would you calm down? Mrs. Johansen knows you were just joking, right?” He looks at Mrs. Johansen expectantly, eyes wide and innocent.

Isak can’t tell if Mrs. Johansen believes Isak is innocent or simply believes whatever Even’s selling her right now. Either way, she nods vigorously, waves her hand dismissively towards Isak. “Doctor Valtersen, I trust you with Astrid’s life,” she promises. Isak smiles, a little shakily.

“Thank you, Mrs. Johansen,” he mutters embarrassingly, ducking his head and walking back into the consultation room. He’s rubbing at the back of his neck when he calls out, “Check her in and send her in, Even.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Even pipes back, and Isak rolls his eyes, because Even’s been here for over a year, and he still refuses to get out of the habit of replying to him with that stupid phrase. Isak stopped telling him to shut up every time after about two months ago, but he knows Even knows it still annoys Isak, so he doesn’t let up. He usually does it in front of the patients, because Even’s told Isak he wants everyone to think Isak runs a dictatorship so they’re nicer to Even when they walk into the clinic looking cranky.

Isak’s pointed out to Even that’s a stupid thing to do, and Even has acknowledged it as such, but it’s a stupid thing to do that _works_ , and Isak’s just mad because he comes out looking like the bad guy.

When Mrs. Johansen and Astrid stride into the room, Even offers Isak a big grin and a thumbs up from his desk, and Isak offers him a roll of his eyes for his trouble.

Still, it doesn’t stop his lips from twitching upwards when he closes the door behind him.

\--

Even’s staring at his coffee contemplatively the next morning.

Isak stops where he is, raises an eyebrow at him. Even ignores Isak in favor of his cup of coffee, brows furrowed in deep thought. Isak looks behind him, then back at Even, before biting.

“Is it speaking to you?” he asks, and Even glances upward. “The coffee, I mean.”

“No,” Even sighs. “That’s the problem.” He places his chin on the palm of his hand dramatically. “Do you think I have shitty coffee taste?”

Isak sighs loudly. “Even, _must_ we do this every week?”

“My doctor said I need to stop with the caffeine intake,” he explains, and Isak frowns. “For preventative measures.”

“Yeah,” Isak’s lips turn into an encouraging smile, small as he can manage so that it doesn’t look condescending. “Your doctor probably knows best.”

“It hasn’t been doing anything to me, though,” Even points out to Isak. “I’ve been drinking coffee literally all my life. It doesn’t make things worse.”

Isak shifts his weight. “Well—”

Even raises his eyebrows. “Well?”

“If you’ve been drinking coffee all your life, how would you know whether it makes things worse or better?” he asks. “You have nothing to lose by cutting down on the caffeine, right?”

Even blinks up at Isak. “My sanity.”

“Ah, no, I think that’s what we’re trying to—”

“Isn’t quitting cold turkey just as bad as quitting heroin cold turkey or something?”

“I—” Isak purses his lips. “I mean, no?”

“I’ve heard it is,” Even nods seriously. “I think I should take it one day at a time.”

“Okay,” Isak nods slowly. “You can start with that coffee? I can take it, if you’d like.”

“Isak, don’t be silly,” Even grabs the cup and rattles it. Isak hears nothing. “I already drank it.”

“So staring at it, that was just—”

“Metaphorical, yes.”

“Right.” Isak sighs, but smiles when Even offers a smile of his own. “Are you feeling okay?” he asks, very seriously. “Are you sleeping?”

“Do you see bags under my eyes?” Even raises an eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“Then I – oh, really?” Even frowns, rolls his desk chair over to the small mirror he has hanging up on the wall behind the desk. “Oh, huh. Would you look at that.”

“They’re very impressive,” Isak jokes. “If they were any heavier, they’d win weightlifting competitions.”

“Or they’d be the weights,” Even jokes back. “Do you think that’s their dream? To become weights at weightlifting competitions?”

“I don’t see why that _can’t_ be their dream.”

Even looks over at him and smiles at him gratefully. “Good thing our skin tones match.”

Isak furrows his eyebrows. “I thought you ran out of concealer yesterday.”

Even clutches at his chest dramatically. “Isak, you’ve known me for over a year and you think I wouldn’t be prepared?” He stands from his chair and walks over to the cabinet, waving Isak over. Isak sighs, walks towards him just as Even’s pulling it open. “Voila,” Even proclaims proudly, and Isak’s staring down at a cabinet full of concealers.

Isak blinks at them for a moment. “We do not need that much concealer, Even.”

Even looks at Isak. “I bought this batch two months ago,” he tells Isak. “This is less than half of what we started with.”

“That’s—” Isak scoffs, shakes his head disbelievingly. “Okay, that’s not true.”

“I have the receipt.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.” Even raises an eyebrow. “You wanna see it?”

“I—” Isak looks at him, considering. “Do…I?”

Even shakes his head. “Probably not.”

Isak bites back a smile. Even responds with a blinding smile of his own.

Isak sighs, raises his fingertips to graze the skin under Even’s eyes softly. The way Even leans into his touch is almost imperceptible, but Isak feels the movement under his skin, anyway. “You know you can take a day off if you need it.”

Even’s expression darkens. “No.”

“I wouldn’t—”

“Isak.” Even brings his hand up to wrap around Isak’s wrist, halting Isak’s movements. “We’ve had this talk.”

“And I already told you,” Isak takes his hand back. “You _have_ paid vacation days. You can take _advantage_ of them.”

“I can take advantage of you, you mean.”

“That’s not—” Isak grunts, frustrated. “You’re not taking advantage of me when it’s literally included in your employee benefits. Literally. Anyone else would have taken advantage of them, _especially_ someone in your situation.”

“I’m doing just fine for someone ‘in my situation’—”

“Even,” Isak snaps. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m _worried_ about you.”

Even rolls his eyes. “Well, _stop_ worrying about me,” he tells Isak. “I’m not your concern, okay?”

That comment bothers Isak more than he lets on. It tugs at his heart frustratingly and eats at the back of his head for a second longer before he gives up, angry at Even’s words and the unexpected effects they’ve had on him. “Okay, whatever,” he marches over to the consultation room and unlocks the door. “You can open up now.”

“We’ve still got another thirty minu—”

“Even.” Isak looks at him. “Just open up, alright?”

Even bites his bottom lip and bounces on his feet nervously. “Isak—”

Isak rubs at the bridge of his nose. “Could you just—” he swallows. “It won’t make a difference, no one’s going to show up for a walk-in in thirty minutes, so could you just open up, please?”

Even glances towards the door. “I’m sorry,” he tells Isak when he looks back.

Isak shakes his head. “For what?”

Even laughs once. “I don’t know.”

Isak rolls his eyes. “Just open the doors, Even.”

Isak’s not sure if Even ends up doing it or not. He closes the door to his consultation room and leaves his back pressed against it until his first patient arrives.

\--

Even shows up late the next day, baby in tow.

Isak raises an eyebrow at him.

“Sara caught the flu,” Even explains, bouncing Ellinor in his arms. “I can’t leave her with Sara because then _she’d_ catch the flu—”

Isak holds up a hand. “When has it ever not been fine?”

Even’s expression crumples. Isak blinks.

“What?” he drops the manila folders he’d been holding in his hands on Even’s desk and walks towards where he stands at the door. Isak’s hands reach out to squeeze Even’s shoulders. “Even, what?”

“Nothing,” Even shakes his head, holding Ella closer. “Nothing, it’s just – I didn’t give her any breakfast, and I’m pretty sure she pooped all of her dinner from last night, and this diaper bag weighs about five hundred pounds and I left her seat in the car—”

Isak reaches over and takes Ella out of Even’s arms. Even exhales shakily.

“Go get her seat,” Isak waves towards the door. “I’ll hold on to her.”

“I’m—”

Isak takes the diaper bag from Even. “Go,” he orders. “I’ll find her breakfast.”

Even looks like he wants to say so many things, but he forgoes all of them and instead runs out the door. Isak turns to look at Ella, who looks back at him with a smile.

“You look thin,” Isak proclaims. “Are you meant to be this thin?”

Ella coos.

“I thought so,” Isak walks over towards the desk and drops the diaper bag on top of it, starts rifling through it. “Aha,” he pulls out a small can of baby food. “Success.” He shows the can to Ella. “I found your breakfast.”

Ella blinks at him.

Isak sniffs, then immediately regrets it. “Oh, yeah, you must be hungry,” he wrinkles his nose. “Forget bombs, they could just use your sh—poop to warn off our enemies.”

“I’m back,” Even pants as he runs through the door with Ella’s seat. “Okay, hi,” he holds out his arms and takes Ella back, leaving Isak with the trail of her smell up his nose and the can of baby food in his hands. Even’s nose wrinkles. “Oh, my God, did she poop even more?”

Isak looks at Even. “Can you handle this.”

Even scoffs. “She’s my _daughter_ , Isak, I think I can handle changing her diaper.”

“Why’s your eye twitching?”

“It’s not—” Even slaps the finger Isak is holding up to Even’s left eye away. “Stop, it’s not twitching.”

“I can change her diaper,” Isak offers kindly. “I deal with feces and fleas and ticks every day.”

“Isak.” Even looks at him seriously. “I appreciate your offer, but I’m going to go into that bathroom and change my daughter’s diaper on my own.”

Isak eyes him carefully. “You’re sure?”

“Would you like to coach me through it?”

Isak’s eyebrows rise. “If you _need_ me to—”

Even swipes the diaper bag from the desk. “Isak,” he shakes his head. “Go to work.”

“We don’t open for another five minutes,” he calls after Even.

“Then do what you always do five minutes before we open,” Even calls back, bathroom door closing behind him.

Isak shifts his weight.

He usually talks to Even five minutes before they open.

\--

Ella’s back the next day, with a vengeance.

“God, I’m so sorry,” Even apologizes for the thousandth time to the customer in the waiting room. “Mrs. Olsen, I’m so—”

Mrs. Olsen says something Isak can’t hear, but he’s sure it’s nothing bad, because the other day Isak told Mrs. Olsen if he didn’t find a home for the three bunnies in his office in the next two days he’d have to put them down and she took all three of them home with her, despite already having two dogs and a cat.

She has a big heart, is what Isak’s saying.

Still, Ella’s wails could probably be heard to Iceland at this point, and Isak sighs loudly and looks Anja the Lab straight in the eyes. “I’m not done with you,” he tells her. “Stay put.”

Anja’s head simply tilts.

Isak is removing his gloves and proceeding to throw them in the trash when he reaches the front desk again. Even turns to look over at him with an apologetic expression, but before he can say anything, Isak reaches and pries her out of Even’s arms.

Isak shushes her softly, bounces her on his arms. “Hey,” he mutters, rubbing her back soothingly. “Hey, baby girl, what’s wrong?”

Ella’s wails turn into small whimpers as she nuzzles her head into Isak’s neck, small hands clutching at Isak’s scrubs. Isak continues to bounce her and hum rhythmically at her, hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. He glances over at Even, who looks absolutely defeated, but there’s a hint of _something_ Isak can never place – every time it happens, every time Ella ends up in Isak’s arms after a particularly loud episode, he looks at Isak with something in his eyes that Isak just wishes he could find the words for.

“I think she’s falling asleep,” Isak tells Even quietly. Even’s smile is small and crooked.

“I don’t know why she likes you best,” he feigns offense through his obvious tiredness. “I’m the one she goes home with.”

Isak smirks. “What can I say? Women find me irresistible.”

“She’s one.”

“In platonic ways, too.”

“You two make good parents,” Mrs. Olsen suddenly chimes in. Both he and Even turn to look at her.

“Thanks,” they both reply in unison, already used to the assumption. They reached a point, somewhere near the year mark, where they stopped correcting people – they’d just assume the same thing the next week, so the time and energy was wasted.

“I can handle it from here,” Even mutters, and Isak raises an eyebrow.

“Well, you’re gonna have to,” he teases. “I’ve got a very disgruntled Labrador in the consultation room. Said she was going to have you fired if you did this to her again.”

“Well, what an absolute bitch.”

Isak snorts quietly.

Their exchange goes smoothly enough so that Ella doesn’t wake, and Even breathes out quietly in relief. He walks behind the desk to lay her in her seat, and Isak looks over at Mrs. Olsen in the meantime.

“Mrs. Olsen, would you like my lunch?” he asks. “For your troubles?”

“Oh, no, dear,” she waves her hand dismissively. “There are no troubles here. Little Ella was just having a bad day.”

Even studiously examines the floor. Isak thinks Even doesn’t know what to do with the kindness that people extend to him, sometimes. Isak thinks Even doesn’t think he deserves it.

And Isak doesn’t know exactly how to change that, even after all this time.

\--

When they’re closing up the next day – Ella finally in the hands of Sara again – Isak notices the lights behind Even’s desk are shining brightly again.

“Oh,” Isak blinks up at them as both he and Even pack up for the night. “Did the electrician finally come by?”

Even looks up at him. “What?”

Isak points towards the lights. “The lights.”

Even looks at them. “Oh, those. No, I fixed those.”

“You what?”

“I fixed them. The electrician said he wouldn’t be coming until Wednesday and we don’t have until Wednesday so I fixed them.”

Isak looks at him. “You fixed them.”

“Isak, are you having a stroke right now?”

“What?”

“I think it’s imperative that you tell me if—”

“Even,” Isak snaps. “I’m not having a stroke, I just – didn’t know you were handy.”

Even hums, considers the lights. “Well, yeah, I didn’t know either, so, erm, I could have done it all wrong,” he admits. “I might have crossed some wires, so, I think we should just turn them on when we _really_ need them.”

Isak’s laugh bursts from deep within his belly. “God, you’re an idiot.”

Even’s eyes are crinkling in that way that makes Isak feel silly in the stomach. “You’re the one who _hired_ an idiot, so what does that make you?”

Isak shrugs his shoulders. “Helpless.”

Even’s smile is kind. “Yeah, a little bit.”

They look at each other for what could be seconds or minutes, and Isak doesn’t know what keeps him so easily rooted to the spot. He thinks about the time before, where he could hardly look Even in the eye for more than two seconds without getting flustered, and he thinks of the sharp contrast to now, where he cannot go more than two seconds _without_ looking at Even.

They both jump slightly when Even’s phone bursts into song.

Even picks up. “Hello?” his expression turns tired once again. “Yes, Sara, I’m on my way. I just got a little delayed, but I’m about to leave work now. Alright. Thank you.” Even hangs up.

Isak’s smile is sympathetic. “Being rushed home?”

Even rolls his eyes. “It’s as if I didn’t pay her by the hour.”

Isak laughs quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Even shakes his head. “It’s nothing to be sorry about,” Even promises. “Ella’s the best thing in my life. She is. And it’s hard – it’s hard sometimes, alone, without Sonja, but I think – yeah, I think I’m doing okay?”

Isak nods. “I think you’re doing great.”

“Not where I saw my life right now, but _okay_ ,” Even continues.

Isak knows Even had wanted to be a film director – he’d had dreams, before, dreams he’d shared with Isak one afternoon during lunch, when Isak inquired. The first thing Even had told Isak during his interview was that being a receptionist at a veterinary clinic was obviously not his top choice, if Isak read through his resume, but he was desperate. He didn’t lie to Isak – his ex-girlfriend had passed during childbirth, he needed a stable job in order to raise his newborn child, and maybe he couldn’t help much with the animals, but he could sure as hell keep things organized.

Isak doesn’t know whether it was impulse or pity that made him offer Even the job, even amongst far more qualified people.

He thinks maybe a little bit of both.

“This is okay?” Isak asks quietly.

Even looks up at him, confused. Suddenly, something like clarity makes way past his expression, and his smile is so soft Isak feels like he could melt into it. “This is more than okay,” he tells Isak quietly. “I don’t know where I would be without you.”

Isak purses his lips to keep himself from saying something ridiculously stupid – because Isak doesn’t think he has any reason to return the sentiment, and yet he does, he _does_ , he doesn’t know where he would be without Even. Maybe some days Jonas reminds him he’d probably be better off with a receptionist who could also double as a second hand during consultations, and maybe those days make sense, but he doesn’t think he’d be the person he is today without Even.

It feels ridiculous, to feel this much, when it probably shouldn’t _be_ this much. And even then, it’s like his memories paint Even in the brightest colors, reminding him of just how many shades of grey his life was made up of before Even walked into it.

“You’d definitely be taking home a lot less dog hair,” Isak admits, and Even laughs brightly. “And wasting less money on concealer.”

“A small price to pay,” Even hums, grabbing his keys. “Are you ready to go?”

Isak nods slightly and waits for Even, and together they lock up the clinic and walk towards the parking lot.

The night isn’t quiet, in fact, it’s loud, the sound of music and shouts and honking horns filling every inch of this Friday, and still Isak feels like it might be the quietest night he’s walked into with Even.

Even says nothing until they reach his car. “Isak,” he licks his lips, and were this anyone else, Isak might even say he looks nervous. “Do you – what are you doing tonight?”

Isak furrows his brows. “Uhm,” he thinks. “I think some of my friends were getting together at this bar—”

“Right, no,” Even nods. “That’s – obviously,” he shrugs. “That sounds fun.”

Isak furrows his brows. “Did you want—”

“I wanted nothing.”

“Even—”

“Isak.”

“ _Even_ ,” Isak presses. “What were you going to ask?”

Even makes a show of rolling his eyes. “I was going to invite you over to dinner, obviously,” he tells Isak, and Isak doesn’t really know how _obvious_ that should have been, because he hadn’t picked up on it. “But then, you have plans, and also, that might not be very professional…?” He looks at Isak.

Isak looks right back. “You bring your baby to work with you,” he breathes in disbelief.

“That’s also not very professional, I agree. You run a very unprofessional workplace, Doctor Valtersen.”

The laugh that escapes Isak is stupid. “I think there’s a common denominator there?”

Even nods solemnly. “It’s the receptionist, isn’t it?”

“I think so.”

“You should get rid of him,” Even smiles. “I hear he’s pretty useless.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Isak smiles back. “I don’t know where I’d be without him.”

They’re the words he’d wanted to say, back inside, but here they are, in a completely different capacity, but they’re just as honest – and Even’s gaze turns fond and exasperated, like he can’t make sense of Isak, and Isak knows the feeling.

“So I’m gonna go,” Even gestures towards his car. “I’ve got an impatient babysitter waiting for me at home. And a daughter.”

“That, too.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Even asks. Isak nods.

When Even opens his car door, Isak blurts: “I’d love to, by the way.”

Even pauses, one foot in the car, turns to offer Isak a questioning look. “What?”

“Well, it’s only six, and I don’t have to meet the guys for another, like, four hours, and it’s advisable to eat before you go out drinking,” he reasons.

Even smiles. “I’ve heard that.”

“And I _am_ hungry, and if I don’t go to your place for dinner, I’ll probably end up buying some Chinese take-out like every Friday night and eating it in front of my TV, watching whatever movie Netflix’s recommended for me next—”

“Those are never accurate.”

“ _Never_ , right?” Isak huffs. “And if I go home and do that, then I’ll spend the rest of the night thinking about just how much better dinner at your place would have been, and then I’ll wonder about Ella and whether or not you gave her too much or too little to eat, and if I was _there_ —”

“Isak,” Even laughs, his foot back out the door. “Are you saying you’re coming to dinner?”

Isak ignores his own blush. “I’m trying to.”

It takes a moment for Isak’s eyes to adjust after Even smiles at him. “Good,” Even says, and though the night is loud, his voice is louder.

“Good,” Isak replies, but he thinks his voice is quieter.

\--

They close early on Saturdays, so it’s only three o’clock when Isak is packing up.

Even knocks on the consultation room door, and Isak peeks up from where he’s stuffing prescription pads inside the cabinet. “Hi,” Isak greets him with a large grin.

Even’s responding smile is a little dimmer.

Isak’s brows furrow. “Is everything okay?”

Even licks his lips and then holds up a piece of paper in his hand. “Someone came to drop their resume off today.”

Isak hums. “Okay?” he looks at Even. “You know where to put them, right?”

“Yeah,” Even’s voice is quiet. “But before I did that, I took a peek.”

“Okay?” Isak repeats. “And…?”

“And she’s _really_ impressive, Isak,” he tells him. “She’s currently in the marine biology program at the university.”

“Huh,” Isak looks away from Even and continues to clean the counter. “Good for her.”

“And then I started looking through the rest of the resumes that have been dropped off,” Even continues. “I don’t know why it never occurred to me, but I just did, and these people—” Even’s suddenly rifling through a lot more papers than Isak was aware he was holding. “These are all people who can actually _help_ with your job. People who don’t wear scrubs for the sake of wearing them? People who can assist with surgery, people who can assist in consultations.”

Isak huffs. “I’m not looking for help right now,” he tells Even. “The position’s taken, by _you_ , might I remind you, so can you just put them away?” Isak is suddenly wiping down the counter a little more forcefully than he’s intended to.

Even is suddenly beside Isak, and he doesn’t stop looking at him until Isak stop wiping and meets his gaze. “What?” Isak snaps.

“I’m taking up the place of someone who – who would actually want to be here because they love treating animals, or because they’re studying veterinary medicine, because they want to be where you are one day—”

“What are you saying?”

Even huffs, shaking his head. “I don’t know,” he admits quietly. After a moment, he says, “You’ve been – nothing but good to me, Isak, but I – wanting to come in just to – to be able to see you or watch you be kind to your patients or hear you laugh at your own jokes or – or watch how good you are with Ellinor, that’s not _enough_. It shouldn’t prevent someone who can do this job better than me from having it.”

Isak is a little lost. He doesn’t know what to say to get Even to stop talking, because he knows where this is headed. “Even, come on—”

“I can stay until you find someone else—”

“I don’t want you to go,” Isak snaps, finally dropping the rag from his hand and stepping closer to Even. “Don’t you _get_ it? I don’t want you to go.”

They stay quiet for a moment, close in proximity, looking each other in the eye. Isak doesn’t know how to break through this tension anymore – it used to be easy, a joke, a smile, but after last night—

Last night, Isak had forgotten all about his drinks plans. He’d stayed over far later than should be socially acceptable at Even’s, and they tried to teach Ella some Puerto Rican children band’s songs, and they tried to get her to say ‘dad’ multiple times, and then when she fell asleep they’d stayed on the couch and they talked for hours, about everything, about nothing, the way they do in the office but this time it felt far more intimate. This time, it felt real, like it was _possible_ , and it hadn’t been possible two days ago, but there were moments in the night where—

—where they would quiet and look at each other and Isak wondered—

Even leans forward now, presses his lips softly to Isak’s and _oh_.

Oh, _this_ is what it is.

It takes Isak a moment to catch up, but when he does, his hand reaches to cup the back of Even’s neck and he kisses him back, and the kiss isn’t anything flashy, it’s just a kiss; it’s soft and alternating and hesitant and respectful, and so indicative of the person Even is Isak doesn’t think he could ask for anything better, anything more.

Their lips part softly after what must only be a couple of seconds, but their foreheads remain pressed together. Even nuzzles Isak’s nose with his own. “God,” Even laughs. “ _God_.”

“Please, call me Isak.”

Even laughs breathlessly, wraps his arms around Isak’s waist. “This is good, right?” he searches Isak’s eyes. “I didn’t just build this up in my head?”

Isak’s hand travels from Even’s neck to the side of his face. “I hope not,” he mutters. “I’d hate to disappoint.”

“Never,” Even shakes his head, and his nose brushes Isak’s every which way. “You could never.”

Isak swallows. “But this _is_ good,” he promises. “This is _better_ than good, this is—” Isak grunts, having a hard time finding his words. “This is – great?”

Even bursts out into a laugh. “Yeah, it’s great.”

“It’s pretty fucking great.”

“It’s pretty fucking great,” Even repeats back to him against his lips, and then they’re kissing again, and there’s nothing soft about it this time, this time it’s hungry, and Isak finds himself pressed against the counter while his hands grasp desperately at Even’s hair.

“I can’t work here anymore,” Even breathes between kisses.

“That’s fair.”

“This is my two weeks’ notice.”

“I’ve never been presented with a more compelling argument.”

Even groans. “I should hope not.”

“Not even close.”

“Is my quitting turning you on right now?”

“Not so much the quitting as the situation, with the, y’know,” Isak kisses him again. “Kissing, and the—” Isak pulls him closer. “—proximity.”

Even hums against his lips. “Should I move back?”

“Absolutely,” Isak breathes, making no move to let him. “Because otherwise we’ll end up doing things in here that violate health code and also, you have a daughter to get home to, which is—”

“Probably a pressing matter, yes.”

“Yep.”

They both continue to kiss.

“Even,” Isak laughs against his lips. “Seriously, we’ve gotta stop.”

“Yep,” Even agrees, finally pulling away. He huffs out a laugh, and his hand reaches to push some of Isak’s hair back, away from his face. Isak reaches to grab Even’s hand before it lowers and laces their fingers together.

“Hi,” he says, quietly, shyly.

“Hi,” Even replies, voice just as quiet, but the smile on his face is loud. Isak squeezes his hand and, for a second, he sees evenings spent in company he loves, with meals that aren’t delivered, and he sees this man and his little girl filling spaces inside of him that were left there long ago by the people who were meant to be his family, and Isak thinks things are looking up.

Isak kisses Even softly one more time, for good measure, and tells Even he’s happy he’ll never have to know what he would do without him.

\--

Isak hears Ellinor before he sees her.

It’s hard not to, because her small voice shrieks _Isak_ , and he’s between consultations so he can walk out of the room and greet her.

She runs clumsily towards him and Isak kneels to greet her in his arms, wrapping them around her and picking her up. “Hi, there,” he grins, standing again.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be as excited to see you as she is,” Even says, walking over to him.

Isak laughs. “Hi,” he mutters, and Even presses a small kiss to his lips.

“Hi,” Even greets in return afterwards with a smile. “We brought you lunch,” he tells Isak, holding up a paper bag. “Ella paid for it.”

“ _Did_ she?”

Ella nods. “Dad gave me money.”

Isak laughs. “Then you definitely paid for it. Did you get something for yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you get?”

Ella’s brows furrow, as if she’s trying to find the words. “Sandwich,” she finally settles for, though it sounds more like _sammich_ from where Isak’s standing.

It’s an improvement from half a year ago, where Even’s pediatrician insisted Ella go to speech therapy, since children are supposed to say at least a couple of words before they turn two. Isak thinks the reason she took so long is because Isak and Even tended to give her everything without asking, but they’re both learning now.

(Isak still tends to give Ella whatever she wants without asking. It’s sparked a couple of tiffs between Even and him.)

“Sounds good,” Isak pokes her nose and Ella giggles. Even smiles softly at him and turns to look at Julian, Isak’s new receptionist.

“Hi, Julian.”

“Hello, Even.”

“Tell me the truth,” Even says, very seriously. “Is he wearing concealer right now?”

Isak rolls his eyes. “You don’t have to answer that, Julian.”

“Nope,” Julian answers anyway. He points to a sign now hanging behind his desk that reads: **THIS JOB HAS WORKED (2) DAYS WITHOUT AN ACCIDENT.**

Even laughs loudly. “Oh, my God, that’s genius.”

Isak rolls his eyes. “He’s harder to dissuade than you ever were.”

Even holds a hand up towards Julian, which Julian happily high-fives.

Ella’s giggling, even though she most likely has no idea what’s going on – she’ll laugh every time Even laughs, and Isak understands that completely. He’d listen to Even laugh for the rest of his life, even if he _is_ laughing at Isak.

“Come on, Ella, we don’t need to be here for this,” Isak sniffs, walking towards the break room. Ella giggles until they reach it, then she demands to be let down. Isak gently sets her down on the floor, and then she runs towards the cabinet where Isak’s hidden her building blocks.

Even walks in a moment later, large smile still in place. “You’re a drama queen,” he reminds Isak casually.

Isak shrugs his shoulders, smiling at the sight of Ella pulling out the bag of building blocks. “You know you love me, anyway.”  

Even wraps an arm around Isak’s waist and pulls him closer to his side, pressing a kiss against Isak’s temple. “Yeah,” he mutters, rubbing at Isak’s back. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this short silly thing. follow me on [tumblr](http://westiris.tumblr.com/) for a good time. 
> 
> ily ❤️


End file.
